A young Kazakh woman experiences life-changing transformation in the wake of trauma.

the rescue

Children are attracted to Laura* like a magnet as she brings them joy in the smallest but surest ways. They see beyond gestures and into the heart. She has a special love flowing from her these days. She had the adventure of a lifetime in the United States and returned home with a transformed life.

The Adventure

Laura and a friend felt fortunate to get a work exchange visa for the United States. They left their Central Asian home with high hopes of finding the perfect job and spending at least six months living and learning in a cross-cultural environment.

After their arrival, their sponsors took them to their new job—a hotel in a large city in New Jersey. The girls quickly realized their new, exciting experience had become a potential nightmare. The low-scale hotel catered to those looking for pleasure on the wrong side of morality.

Although they sensed it was dangerous for them to stay, they knew no one and felt trapped. Then Laura remembered a couple from America who had visited Kazakhstan several months earlier. She had served as their translator. During their time together, she shared her plans to work in the States. The kind people had given her their phone number in case she had time to call them while in the States.

Desperate and afraid, the girls felt they had only two choices. They could stay where they were and hope they would not be abused. Or they could see just how serious the American couple was about their invitation.

Shocked by the girl’s situation, the Americans told the girls to stay out of sight. They were on their way to pick them up. The Good Samaritan couple left Virginia that night and headed for New Jersey, arriving at the hotel in the early morning hours. They whisked the two frightened girls away and drove them to the safety of their home near the campus of Liberty University.

Refuge Found

The couple undertook the rescue at personal risk. They did not know who sponsored these girls. Those sponsors might look for the girls and certainly would not be happy with whoever had taken their workers. Yet, this did not prevent them from acting in a compassionate and ethical manner.

The two young ladies found refuge in the home of this godly couple. They found work on the nearby college campus and were around Christians every day. Little-by-little, their hearts were touched by the love and care they received—not only by their personal good Samaritans but also by many others.

God used a most unusual circumstance to bring new life into their hearts. Both accepted Christ and were baptized before their return to Central Asia.

Fast Forward

Several months later, I was in Kazakhstan constructing playgrounds. My team worked at an orphanage run by local churches. I noticed how the children clung to Laura. I asked a translator where this “pied-piper” was from, and if she was a believer. The translator gave me a brief account of Laura’s story.

I had one of those “ah-ha” experiences as I clearly remembered a story of two Kazakh girls rescued from a shady hotel in New Jersey. I heard the story from the Good Samaritans themselves. Now I saw the living results of their courageous act—clear evidence of how seed properly planted, even in high-risk circumstances, can bring forth real fruit.

About the Writer: The writer is director of field operations for Creative Access countries. To read more about Free Will Baptist global evangelism, visit www.fwbgo.com.

*Not her real name.